Go holiday! It’s a party in the skies
It’s that time of the year again when people loosen their purse strings, get ready to unwind in the festive season and have all the major airlines gunning for their attention.
Travelling by air clubbed with the festival season seems to have become the latest obsession with Indians and all major carriers are doling out festive schemes to shore up passenger volumes.
So what does an average air traveller want from the festive season?
The commonest answers range from genuine ones like “I don’t want to stand in lines for a ticket”, and “I want tickets that don’t burn a hole in my pocket” to a little more ‘frilly’ ones like “I need better looking air hostesses” and “I want free champagne on all flights.”
But your ideal vacation may not be a distant dream this festive season as airlines going all out to increase load factors, tie-ups with hotels, travel agencies and travel sites.
Moreover, special discount fares, cash back schemes and lucky draws are just some of the incentives that airlines hope will help boost their numbers.
Low-cost players like GoAir are bombarding passengers with offers like GoCrazy which means one can get a ticket to any destination for as little as Rs 600.
GoAir is also offering 50,000 tickets for as low as Rs 525 to major tourist destinations around the country, and smart tickets, which means door-to-door delivery service free of any extra charge.
Competitors Spice and Indigo are also giving out tickets for Rs 499 onwards on all routes. In addition to the no frills onslaught, schedule airlines like Indian are vying for space with their overseas discount trump card, the desh-videsh service.
So you can well afford to take a well-deserved break this festive season, go sightseeing, and fly back without the bills going through the roof.
But don’t expect any champagne. At least not as of now!